1st Annual Physical Festival in Chicago features performers from Denmark and Finland

1ST ANNUAL PHYSICAL FESTIVAL COMES TO CHICAGO IN SUMMER 2014

9-DAY FESTIVAL BRINGS INTERNATIONAL/NATIONAL COMPANIES TO LINKS HALL

Links Hall with Alice da Cunha and Marc Frost present the first annual Physical Theater Festival Chicago, a nine-day celebration of physical theater, July 25 to August 2, 2014. The inaugural festival presents five main stage productions featuring Out of Balanz (Denmark/Finland), Mirage Compañia de Teatro (Spain), Lake Simons (NYC), James Donlon (Oregon/Chicago)and Theater Grottesco (New Mexico) plus two evenings highlighting work by local artists including Silent Theater Company and a scratch night with various artists. The Festival also offers six professional Master Classes with the visiting artists. All performances will take place at Links Hall, 3111 N. Western Ave., Chicago. Festival passes are $35 online and $40 at the door and can be obtained by calling the Links Hall at 773-281-0824 or by visiting www.physicalfestival.com.

Physical theater pursues storytelling through primarily physical and visual means to create original and contemporary work. It includes a wide variety of styles, approaches and aesthetics, including clown, puppetry, mime, mask, dance-theater, vaudeville and circus, among others.

Alice da Cunha and Marc Frost are launching the inaugural Physical Festival through the Artistic Associate program at Links Hall. The Festival draws upon their combined experience as graduates from the London International School for the Performing Arts (LISPA). Moving to Chicago, they were inspired to start a new festival to promote a contemporary, fresh and physical approach to theater-making.

6 INTERNATIONAL/NATIONAL COMPANIES AND 1 SCRATCH NIGHT FEATURING LOCAL ARTISTS

Friday-Sunday July 25 – 27

7 PM – “Etiquette Unraveled” by Lake Simons (New York)

A one-woman comedy, examines the theme of the proper diverging into fantastical chaos. A tea party with a misbehaving guest, a chance meeting culminating in a kiss, a captain at sea, a cowboy taming his mare, and a final duet make up a day-in-the-life of ETIQUETTE UNRAVELED incorporating dance, mime, clown, and puppetry.

Lake Simons is a theater artist based in New York City who has served as Assistant Movement and Puppetry Director for the international, Tony Award-winning play War Horse on Broadway and the national tour. She is also the recipient of multiple Jim Henson Foundation Grants for puppetry.

“Charming!…Wonderful!…Lake Simons is a talented physical comedian and mime and always fascinating to watch.” – nytheatre.com

9 PM – “Lázaro” by Mirage Compañia de Teatro (Spain)

Three actors, a lot of clothing, and just a hint of music are all that is needed to unravel this bitter critique of modern society; to hear, see, and silence the double standards that reflect back to us a clear image of what we can yet be. In Spanish with subtitles.

Mirage Compañia de Teatro has made connections with audiences all over Spain, from fans of classical to contemporary. By combining elements of physical theater with text-based theater, Mirage has brought classic works to life in an accessible manner, which has made their group wildly popular in their native country. The company created Be Festival in Birmingham, UK.

“Another alternative gem ( … ) The show is oozing wit and drama from all sides.”- ROSANNA TORRES, El País (Madrid, Spain)

Monday, July 28, 7 PM

“Consider This…” by Theater Grottesco (New Mexico)

A 60-minute romp through the pre-history of American theater, from Greek Tragedy to Commedia dell’Arte, Clown, Buffoon, and more, masquerading as a lecture-demonstration.

Theater Grottesco rekindles interest in live performance by juxtaposing classical and modern theatrical styles with a daring, poetic research of culture and imagination. The company has received 12 NEA Theatre Awards and toured nationally for 15 years performing in 7 countries, 30 states, most major U.S. cities and dozens of smaller communities.

Tuesday, July 29. 7 PM

“The Wild Party Variety Hour” by Silent Theatre Company (Chicago)

Coined the “dirtiest fun to be had on the Chicago stage”, Silent Theater Co.’s long running cabaret show comes to the Festival featuring exceptional local talent.

Silent Theatre Co. seeks to provide opportunities to aesthetically awake moments through performance, music and art. The company has become known for transporting the silent film era of Charlie Chaplin to the stage, down to the live piano music and black-and-white make-up. They have toured the US from San Francisco to New York while premiering original works in Chicago since 2005.

“The Wild Party Variety Hour exhibits some of Chicago great hidden talent. (…) No plot, no special effects, just pure entertainment… this one hour variety show is sure to have something for everyone.” -Chicago Stage Review

Wednesday, July 30, 7PM

Scratch Night for new physical theater works

Hosted by Silent Theater Company, featuring 10-15 minutes of new pieces from six local artists, and one NY-based company.

FROM DENMARK AND FINLAND:

Thursday-Saturday, July 31 – August 2

7 PM – “Next Door” by Out of Balanz (Denmark/Finland)

A comedy about the touching shenanigans of two neighbors. When Ivan Hansen’s neighbor passes away suddenly, Ivan realizes he doesn’t know anything about him. Intimate storytelling and high-octane physical theatre explore what it is that really connects us.

Out of Balanz is an award winning international theatre ensemble based in Copenhagen, recognized for their highly collaborative creative process and for producing original work rich in spectacle and adventurous in form.  Since their first production in 2006, they’ve created 11 original works and have toured to 15 different countries.

“Imaginative and groundbreaking… an unforgettable journey into the human psyche…” – The Copenhagen Post (Denmark)

“[Y]ou would be hard-pressed to find a better-integrated or more inviting marriage of mimetic movement and narrative.” – The Times (UK)

 9 PM – “Circo de Tu Corazón” by James Donlon, Alina Cenal and Karen Hoyer (Oregon/Chicago)

Delivered in a style evocative of Garcia Marquez’s magical realism, the show follows a colorful collection of eccentrics who populate a surreal circus lost somewhere in the Americas. JAMES DONLON, ALINA CENAL, and KAREN HOYER combine their prolific expertise in mask, neo-classic mime and clown, improvisation, music and dance, to create beings and creatures of mystery and passion. Speaking in a mixture of Spanish, spanglish and gibberish, characters perform routines driven by skill, love and yearning.

James Donlon is a master teacher and performer who has worked as a movement coach for stars such as Javier Bardem and Kathy Bates who will be performing from an archive of works alongside his partners Alina Cenal and Karen Hoyer.

“An extraordinary blend of skill and lunacy” – The New York Times

Master Classes

During the day, the Festival will include Master Classes in various aspects of physical theater taught by the visiting artists on topics such as devising theater, object manipulation, mask, clown and mime.

Visit http://www.physicalfestival.com/ for more info.

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Alice da Cunha is a Brazilian/Portuguese actress and producer who moved to Chicago from London. She was the Marketing Director for CASA (London’s Latin American Theatre Festival) and the producer/presenter of SHORTCUTZ LONDON (a weekly short film festival). She also served as Production Assistant for TODOS Festival, an interdisciplinary festival in Lisbon, Portugal. Since moving to Chicago, she has worked for the Chicago Latino Film Festival. She continues to work as an actress in film and theater.

Marc Frost is an actor/producer from Chicago who started Theater Unspeakable, a devised, physical theater company in 2010. The company has toured around the US, most notably with Lincoln Center Education and Chicago Humanities Festival. While living in London, he started “Physical”, a quarterly scratch night for showcasing new physical theater work and as a student at Tufts University, he created Bare Bodkin Theatre Company, which continues to produce student’s original plays today.

Links Hall is located at Constellation, 3111 N. Western Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618—convenient to the Belmont/Clyborn & Western CTA Bus Stop in Chicago’s Roscoe Village neighborhood. The former viaduct lot at Western and Belmont will be available to Constellation audience. For more information call 773.281.0824 or visit www.LinksHall.org

Links Hall encourages artistic innovation and public engagement by maintaining a facility and providing flexible programming for the research, development and presentation of new work in the performing arts.

Links Hall is supported by Alphawood Foundation, AllState Insurance Company, Arts Midwest, Arts Work Fund for Organizational Development, The Boeing Company, The Chicago Community Trust, Cliff Dwellers Arts Foundation, The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, James S. Kemper Foundation, Lisa Dershin Creative Dance Fund, MacArthur Fund for Arts and Culture at The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, National Performance Network, The Weasel Fund and many individuals.

Links Hall’s Performance Series is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency; and a CityArts Program 2 grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs.

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